Khargone district
Khargone district ( ), formerly known as West Nimar district ( ), is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The district lies in Nimar region, and is part of Indore Division. Khargone town is the headquarters of this district. History The district has a long history. In ancient period, the Haihayas of Mahishmati (present-day Maheshwar) ruled this region. In early medieval age, the area was under the Paramaras of Malwa and the Ahirs of Asirgarh. In late medieval age, the area was under Malwa Sultanate of Mandu. In 1531, Gujarat sultan Bahadur Shah brought this area under his control. In 1562, Akbar annexed this territory along with the whole Malwa to Mughal empire. In 1740 Marathas under the Peshwa brought the area under their control. In 1778, Peshwa distributed this territory to the Maratha rulers, Holkars of Indore, Sindhias of Gwalior and Ponwars of Dhar. After the independence and merger of the Princely states with Union of India in 1948, this territory became West Nimar district of Madhya Bharat. Khargone district had been part of the Nerbudda (Narmada) Division of the Central Provinces and Berar, which became the state of Madhya Bharat (later Madhya Pradesh) after India's independence in 1947.Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 6. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford On 1 November 1956 this district became part of the newly formed state of Madhya Pradesh. On 25 May 1998 West Nimar district was bifurcated into two districts: Khargone and Barwani. Geography Area of the district is 8030 km². The district is situated between 21°22' and 22°35' north latitudes and 74°25' and 76°14' east longitudes. The district is surrounded by Dhar, Indore and Dewas in the north, state of Maharashtra state in the south, Khandwa, Burhanpur in the east and Barwani in the West. Deepali was the princess who ruled city in 20th century. Economy In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Khargone one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 24 districts in Madhya Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Divisions The district is divided into 5 sub-divisions, which are further divided into 9 tehsils. Barwaha sub-division has only one tehsil, Barwaha with the town bigger than Barwaha name Sanawad. Bhikangaon sub-division has two tehsils, Bhikangaon and Jhirnya. Kasrawad sub-division has only Kasrawad tehsil while Khargone sub-division has four tehsils, Khargone, Gogawan, Bhagwanpura, Madhya Pradesh and Segaon. Mandaleshwar sub-division has one tehsil, Maheshwar. Khargone town is the administrative headquarters of the district. Other towns are Maheshwar, Kasrawad, Segaon, Bhagwanpura, Jhirnya, Bhikangaon, Gogawan and Barwah. Maheshwar is a place of tourist attraction as the former capital of the Haihayas and the Holkars of Indore. The district consists 6 Vidhan Sabha constituencies. These constituencies are: Bhikangaon, Badwah, Maheshwar, Kasrawad, Khargone and Bhagwanpura. While, Bhikangaon and Badwah are part of Khnadwa Lok Sabha constituency, the rest are part of Khargone Lok Sabha constituency. Demographics According to the 2011 census Khargone District has a population of 1,872,413, roughly equal to the nation of Kosovo or the US state of West Virginia. This gives it a ranking of 252nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.81%. West Nimar has a sex ratio of 963 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 63.98%. Languages Languages spoken include nimadi is the most spoking language in west nimar and gujrati Bareli Palya, a Bhil language with approximately 10 000 speakers centred in Madhya Pradesh; Bareli Rathwi, another Bhil language, with approximately 64 000 speakers, written in the Devanagari script; and Bhilali, with 1 150 000 speakers. References External links *Official "Khargone District" website in Hindi language *http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villag/Khargone list of places in Khargone Category:Districts of Madhya Pradesh Category:Khargone district Category:1948 establishments in India Category:Districts in India